BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

Is there a decision you’ve been avoiding because you’re afraid of getting it wrong? How long have you been waiting for certainty before taking a step? Here’s the problem: Certainty rarely comes before obedience. When you make a choice, you stand a chance of being wrong, and who likes being wrong? I’ve never met a single person who enjoys being wrong. Because of our fear of...

Have you ever been on a boat in a stormy sea? Have you ever seen waves so big they can swallow your boat? Have you ever felt the panic of beginning to sink? I haven’t, and I must say, I’m quite grateful. I love living through an adventure to get to the other side with a good story, but that’s one I prefer to just read about. The disciples had this real-life experience, and Mark g...

Life has a way of convincing us that nothing will ever change. Faith reaches for Jesus anyway. Jesus specializes in restoring what looks lost. Mark 5: 21-43 (two separate stories intertwined) Has the vibrant, joyful woman God created you to be been buried beneath years of disappointment? Have the circumstances of life pressed down so heavily on you that you’re no longer truly living—you are...

Alright, my armored up sister – we have a battle all around us – what are we going to do about it? Well, here’s what we’re NOT called to do – we’re not called to run head first into battles with the enemy.  We’re not told to sneak into enemy territory and plan an attack.  We’re told to put on our armor and STAND FIRM.  Do not waver.  Do not back down.  Don’t give an inch of terri...

Now that we have all 5 pieces of our armor, the belt of truth around our waist, the breastplate of righteousness covering our heart, the shoes of peace for our ready feet, the shield of faith in one hand to protect us from the fiery arrows, and the helmet of salvation protecting our mind, we have one last thing to do … Ephesians 6:17, “Take the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” We hav...

In the halls of our Venice, Italy retreat house are priceless paintings and works of art. Clearly, the owner is a serious collector. But one piece stopped me. It hangs in a second-story hallway—gold-framed, almost sculpted into the canvas itself. It’s not just a painting; it has depth, dimension, movement. Figures seem to step forward out of the frame and cast real shadows on the wall. And it tell...

Here we are, God’s daughters, under attack. Every day the enemy attacks with the hopes of distracting us or distancing us from God. That’s why we must put on the full armor God has offered us. He doesn’t want his girls vulnerable to the devil, he wants us victorious. Last week we studied the first 3 pieces of our God given armor for the spiritual battle: The Belt of Truth The Breastplate of Righte...

There are 3 pieces of God’s armor we are to “put on”. 1. The belt of truth. 2. The breastplate of righteousness. 3. The shoes of peace. In getting dressed for the unseen spiritual battle, the final thing we put on are our shoes. And think about it, you’re not ready to leave if you don’t have your shoes on. My husband knows I’m not really walking out the door if my shoes aren’t on. My shoes are the...

Part of your armor against the ploys of the enemy is a bulletproof vest for your heart. If Satan can twist your heart, if he can harden your heart, if he can damage your heart, then he renders you ineffective. Nobody looks at a cynical, irritable, negative, grouchy Christian and says, ‘wow, I gotta have what she has.’ Yip – ineffective! Zero impact for Jesus. Saved but not set apart for good...

When you really know about the unseen spiritual battle happening, you then have a choice … stand with God in the battle, or sit down and dismiss yourself from it. Sadly, most of us either refuse to acknowledge the battle happening at all – or – we refuse to allow our self-centered little lives to be bothered with it. But the truth is, we are bothered by it, continually. Every single fa...

Yesterday we studied the importance of becoming strong in the Lord before we try to armor up for battle against our enemy, the devil. Again, what good is the best armor in the world if the soldier has no strength to stand? God is strong and he wants his girl strong. God is strong and he’s not raising weak daughters. Remember, how do you gain this strength? By supernatural infusion! It’s our CONNEC...

Ephesians 6:10, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” This comes BEFORE you put on the armor in verses 11-17. Putting even the best armor on a weak soldier does no good in the battle. The soldier must be strong to use the armor. Maybe you’re weak right now – girl you don’t need heavy armor – first you need to be strengthened. How do we gain this strength? “Be strong IN the L...

Remember how yesterday we talked about Jesus and Peter needing to pay their taxes, and Jesus tells Peter to do what he’s always done – go fishing. But this would be a completely different fishing experience because this time, Peter was fishing with Jesus – and Jesus is the difference maker. God had perfectly aligned just the right fish with a valuable coin in its mouth to bite Peter’s...

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to miss God when life feels ordinary? We pray for miracles, yet overlook the countless ways Heaven is already moving around us. We beg God for provision while standing in the middle of prayers he’s already answering. We ask him to open doors, never realizing the door in front of us was opened by his hand all along. Girl, God is working in your life right now. N...

Have you ever listened to someone tell a story and thought, “Please get to the point.” Some people include every detail, every side story, every random moment. And when they say, ‘To make a long story short,’ you know the story is about to get longer. Now, when it comes to your Bible, long stories are kept short. One encounter with Jesus would be an entire best selling book, and instead we read ab...

Today in Venice, I will take my retreat girls to a church most tourists will never enter. Not because they can’t—but because they pass right by it. There’s no line wrapping around the building. No admission ticket. No crowds shuffling through with cameras. It’s not treated like a museum or a famous attraction. Years ago, when I was completely lost wandering the winding canals of Venice, I stumbled...

Basilica of Santa Margherita — the big church perched high above Cortona. From down in the valley, it almost seems to float above the town. This church is dedicated to Margaret of Cortona. Margaret is unlike any other saint you will likely ever hear about. Her story is fascinating and dramatic. If you were choosing the story of a woman to become a saint known for her faith in Jesus, this would not...

Ephesians 5: 15-17, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools (asophoi), but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Follow Pamela on Instagram –  https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about...

Just as God has a work he wants to do in your life, so does the enemy. The devil wants to do a work in your mind. He wants to do his nasty work in your heart. And he wants to bring absolute destruction to your relationships. And here’s the really dangerous thing … you may just be doing the devil’s work for him. That’s right – you might be causing the destruction yourself. Most of us have par...

When you realize how truly loved you are by God, you are made complete with two things: the fullness of life and the power that comes from God. Knowing you are loved frees you to live like never before. Not in fear and not in shame, but in bold courage to show up in this life you have been given and live like the girl you were truly created to be. Oh how I pray you are living in that freedom, my s...

Something happens in your life when you have a personal encounter with God’s love.  Something that changes you. I’m sure you know that God loves you.  But do you only know that on a surface level? For some, it’s a mere blanket statement of faith – nothing more than a thing you say because it’s what everyone else says.  “Jesus loves me this I know – for the Bible tells me so.”  But God...

You were specifically designed with love for love. At your very core is the need for love. As humans, we are in constant pursuit of love. And ultimately, every behavioral issue we ever experience is in some way trying to earn love, experience love, experience love or force love. What messes we create when we fear love is uncertain, conditional, or unavailable to us. This is why as women we seek at...

Your thoughts have a massive effect on your life. Every single day, your thoughts are either running the moment or allowing you to enjoy the moment. The truth is, you simply can’t have a positive life with a negative mind. God created your mind for life and peace, but the enemy fights hard to distort our thinking. Understand, today there’s still a battle going on in your mind, and it&#...

How many of you would admit you over-complicate things sometimes? You overthink things and make things harder than they really need to be. Today, let’s let God drastically simplify a few things for us so we really get it. Yesterday we looked at that well known scripture, Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to...

Nobody loves having their plans ruined. Nobody loves seeing all they’ve been working on completely fall apart. It feels discouraging. It feels overwhelming. But what if we’re just looking at it wrong? What if all that’s happening here with your ruined plans and failed attempts is heavenly things interrupting earthly things? Think about that! You’re dealing with earthly thin...